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Who was Eliezer (i.e. servant of Avraham) father?

mevaqesh
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yydl
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4 Answers4

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According to Targum Yonoson - 14:14 (in Bereishis), Eliezer's father was Nimrod.

yydl
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13

Another Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 60:7) identifies Eliezer with Canaan. According to that, then, his father would have been Ham, Noach's son (Gen. 10:6).

Alex
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The Torah just introduces him as a Damascene.

But I believe one medrish identifies him as Nimrod's son. Eliezer was tired of his father's worldview and sought out Avraham's monotheism.

Shalom
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    IIRC one version has Nimrod giving his son to Avraham as a slave. – yitznewton Dec 08 '11 at 17:23
  • @yitznewton that's certainly possible though I haven't heard it before. Are you sure you're not confusing that with the one about Hagar being Pharaoh's daughter? Nimrod and Avraham weren't exactly best buddies. – Shalom Dec 08 '11 at 18:00
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    @Shalom: it's in Pirkei d'R. Eliezer ch. 16: after Avraham got out of the furnace of Ur Kasdim safely, all of the VIPs of the kingdom gave him presents, and Nimrod did too. (Actually, though, PdRE has Eliezer as Nimrod's slave. The idea that he was Nimrod's son is from Targum Yonasan to Gen. 14:14, which calls him בר נמרוד.) – Alex Dec 08 '11 at 18:11
  • @Alex, huh. That would imply that Nimrod felt impressed, rather than threatened, by Avraham post-furnace. ? Interesting. It's funny how people weave different midrashim together. I was taught in grade school about Lot's daughter who secretly gave a fellow girl jars of flour, and was killed by bees for it -- when I looked into it, that appears to be a mashup of several different midrashim. – Shalom Dec 08 '11 at 19:46
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    @Alex yes, now I remember: slave-Og was the gift of Nimrod - I mixed them up indeed. – yitznewton Dec 08 '11 at 22:29
  • Og was the fugitive who informed Avraham about the war of the kings having taken Lot captive. And Nimrod was one of the kings in that war. – CashCow Dec 05 '14 at 09:04
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Pirkei d'Rebbi Eliezer has Eliezer as Og King of the Bashan.

yitznewton
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  • That doesn't really answer the question, though, does it? – msh210 Dec 08 '11 at 19:27
  • Huh. That's really head-scratcher. – Shalom Dec 08 '11 at 19:42
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    @msh210 not per se, just mentioning another position on Eliezer's identity that would trickle up to his father's identity. – yitznewton Dec 08 '11 at 22:28
  • So Pirkei d'Rabi Eliezer would say the "refugee" who informed Avraham of the battle of Sdom was not Eliezer, I assume. – Shalom Dec 09 '11 at 01:24
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    Gee if you mix Midrashim here, this guy has a one-man show. He comes to tell Avraham of the war, then he's Avraham's army that goes and fights! – Shalom Dec 09 '11 at 01:25
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    According to the Talmud (Niddah 61A) and commentaries, this would make Eliezer's father Schemchazel: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/8382/how-were-achiman-sheshai-and-talmai-sons-of-giants – Menachem Dec 09 '11 at 01:29
  • @shalom refugee was an angel, Michael IIRC – yitznewton Dec 09 '11 at 03:25
  • These midrashim are fascinating. Another related topic: Terach and his attitude(s) to Avram – yitznewton Dec 09 '11 at 03:26
  • @yitznewton, yes there's another opinion in the medrish that it was an angel, not Og. As Rabbi Sorotzkin (moznayim l'torah) points out, sometimes we can't tell if the person doing a given action is the loftiest angel or the most awful scoundrel! – Shalom Dec 09 '11 at 14:48